Updates on Vok journey

This is a post I dread.

Vok was seen yesterday by an amazing vet who administered pain relief and anti-inflammatories and scheduled him for a full body x rays and extensive blood works today. He had a throughout examination and the probability of testicular cancer is almost 100%. This is not going to kill him, however. It is a slow evolving cancer. The main concern was a big mass found in his chest, attached to his shoulder above the limping leg. The prognosis was reserved; we wait for the X-rays result.

He perked up pretty quickly after pain relief was administered and wanted to explore. His happy photos here, in the vet’s parking lot after a long walk and sniff around the area:

He panted a bit though the night, which made us believe he was still in pain.

This morning, we dropped him off back at the vet for X rays and blood work.

Half an hour later, we have been called to come back to look at the X rays. The presentation is consistent with osteosarcoma. His leg is at the point of fracturing.

This is NOT what we wanted to hear. One of us dealt with osteosarcoma in a much-loved dog recently, and this made it even more heartbreaking.

The only good news is that it didn’t spread, yet. His lungs are clear; his heart is fine. He is still a candidate for leg removal surgery. This is his only chance, provided that the blood work comes back fine for surgery.

The amount of pain he is in now, and most probably been for a while – even if he doesn’t show it – is enormous, and there is no medication for it. The only 2 ways to go from here are either immediate euthanasia, or leg removal. Keeping him alive in this amount of pain would be simply cruel.

And he is 13.

But he is otherwise healthy. And he has a lot of zest for life.

The testicular cancer and hormonal implications means that he would be a target for other dogs – in particular males, so he needs segregation from the pack for now.

Desexing during the leg surgery was not recommended.

And the only reason to keep him alive is to give him some of the finest things life has to offer -and he didn’t have. This boy had a tough life. And he was amazing at it. He still amazes everybody. He is a beautiful soul. Can we give him that quality of live given the circumstances? Can we provide an excellent level of care for him, as well as our other dogs, while moving towns and dealing with everything else? Can we integrate him in our pack with puppies and teen dogs, with the hormonal implications of his cancer, and the unknown factor in dealing with it, while he is still recovering and adjusting? How long would counterconditioning and desensitizing of the whole crew take – he may not have that time? Is it worth doing it? If not, what will be his quality of life? What are we fighting against? And what are we fighting for? For us? For the elderly dogs we lost in the past to cancer? Or for him?

Needless to say, that this is a VERY expensive surgery, very invasive, with a long road to recovery and some amount of pain – but nothing like the pain he is in, now, and probably been for a while.

That was a really, REALLY tough decision. We questioned our ethics, abilities, definition of life quality for him, and our understanding of points of no return.

But we all agreed to try. To try to give him the best chance to life. For as long as he can be happy. If that is one chance in a million, then we will try that one.

We are currently awaiting the results of the blood test and have scheduled the surgery. The procedure to amputate his leg is planned for Thursday. In the interim, he is receiving intravenous treatment at the veterinary clinic, with the concern that his leg may sustain further injury prior to the surgery.

Vok, after X ray, waiting nicely for his surgery: